Baz Barnacle in a Clawful Tale
Baz Barnacle in a Clawful Tale is a two-part story that was published in Issue 45 of the Moshi Monsters Magazine. Story Part One "Crabs!" yelled Baz Barnacle as he came tearing out of his shop on Bleurgh Beach. "Crabs everywhere!" He was hopping up and down one one foot, his eyes rolling in every direction at once as he tried to dislodge a bright orange crab that was clinging to his big toe. "Yaroo! Get it off me!" he yelped, dropping to the sand and rolling around as if he were on fire. Katsuma was next door trying out his pirate roar at Jaunty Jack's Shouty Shack when he heard the racket and ran outside to help. When he saw Baz rolling in the sand, flapping his arms and legs around and clutching hopelessly at the crab, he collapsed with laughter. "Hehehe!" giggled Katsuma. "You look ridiculous! That crab thinks you're dinner! He thinks you... OWWEEE!!!" Katsuma clutched at his tail. There was a massive crab hanging off the end by one nasty looking nipper. "Ow! Get off!" cried Katsuma. "That's my tail!" Now it was Baz's turn to laugh. "You daft monster!" he roared, finally shaking his foot free of his own crab passenger. "Serves you right, that does! I suppose you'll be wanting my help, will you?" "Ow! Oooh! Yes," gasped Katsuma. "Yes please, Ouch!" Baz unclamped the crab from Katsuma's tail and while Katsuma checked it for kinks, he nursed his own swollen toe. "I've never seen anything like it," muttered Baz, as he prodded his swollen foot. ""There are always one or two crabs scuttling around the beach, but not like this. My shop's overflowing with 'em. I can't sit down without getting nipped!" "We need to figure out why they're here," said Katsuma, scratching his head. "As long as that means figuring out how to get rid of them too, you go for it," said Baz. Katsuma's hunt for clues started in Baz's shop. It WAS overrun with crabs! They covered the flood like a lumpy carpet and filled up the shelves. "Maybe it's food they're after," said Katsuma. "Where do you keep your snacks, Baz?" "Ain't no food in here," said Baz, gently slapping his wide belly. "I'm lookin' after me figure. Besides, I mostly eat barbecued sandcastles and I don't think crabs eat those." "Barbecued sandcastles? Blech!" said Katsuma. "You've been sitting in the sun too long, Baz." Can you spot the six differences in the picture on the right? Part Two The unlikely detective duo abandoned Baz's shop and sat in the shade of a palm tree, watching the crabs and thinking. "If it's not food they're after, what's attracting them to the beach?" said Katsuma. "Um... maybe they've got bored of living in the ocean and they're looking for a place on dry land, only still close to the shore, you know... a nice easy commute to work," said Baz. "Oookay...," said Katsuma. "But what if they're not looking for something? Then something must be drawing the crabs here... but what?" Just then, Poppet appeared. She was dressed from head to toe like a flamenco dancer, with a frilly dress and clickety-clackety wooden castanets on her fingers. "Hi, Katsuma!" she cried happily as she danced across the sand. "I'm practising for The Underground Disco's International Dance Challenge. What do you think? Ole!" She struck a pose and clicked the castanets noisily. "I think that I know what's bringing the crabs to the beach, Look!" said Katsuma, clambering to his feet excitedly. How many crabs are following Poppet? Baz followed Katsuma's pointing finger. Behind Poppet there was a trail of crabs that stretched all the way to the quicksand at the eastern tip of Bleurgh Beach. "Clamouring crustaceans! It's Poppet's clacking castanets!" cried Baz. "The crabs are following her like fans after Zack Binspin... and that gives me an idea! Poppet! Lead 'em to the submarine by the jetty!" Poppet danced her way towards the wooden jetty where the submarine was moored. The crabs clicked and clacked to the sound of her castanets and scuttled along behind her. When they got to the submarine, Baz popped open its shiny brass hatch and the parade of crabs crawled inside until the beach was completely crab free. "I'll take 'em out to sea and put 'em back in the water where they belong," said Baz, pulling on a pair of thick ruber boots to protect his feet from grabby crab claws, and lowered himself into the submarine. "Be careful!" smirked Katsuma. "The water's a bit nippy." Just then, a large crab reached up and punched Baz's big blue behind as hard as it could! "Yowch! Not as nippy as it is in here!" he gasped through gritted teeth as Katsuma and Poppet waved from the shore. It was going to be a long journey. Category:Stories